Here’s to the Health Issue
WOW! Best magazine yet, in my opinion (spring 2024). Thanks so much for including the first-person accounts of the six medical professionals and the article about whole-person healing. I especially loved hearing about friends of mine/fellow classmates plus a couple of friends from the early ’90s. As always, Colgate grads continue to be mind-blowingly impressive.
Kerstan Lincoln ’93 Ruffer
Testimony Is Not Evidence
I have always read Colgate’s alumni publications, and was positively impressed by its latest iteration, Colgate Magazine, at the last “redo.” Aside from the look, I actually read the content (not just class notes!), making me one of the 68%. The latest issue on health was, I initially thought, topical for one approaching a 50th Reunion. As a true believer in the liberal arts and the importance of learning to think as a foundational skill, I was, however, quite amazed to see a section on so-called alternative medicine, albeit partially veiled in the title “Whole-Person Healing.” Wow, or should I say, woo?
Reiki, chiropractic, acupuncture, and (so help me, Darwin) homeopathy are all fake treatments that have been scientifically discredited for ages. Chi is woo, acupuncture is woo (OK, occasionally a study says acupuncture helps with pain, but it’s impossible to devise a good double-blind study, and pain is notoriously subjective to measure), homeopathy is woo², and chiropractic is scientific in the same way as is scientology, with tests, tools, and toys, just no demonstrable proof.
There is only one kind of medicine that works; it’s called medicine. Those efforts that don’t work are “alternative medicine,” aka not medicine. As the saying goes, “testimony is not evidence.”
I am glad to see that my legacy donation to the P&R department to endow a chair in “Skeptical, Atheist, and Non-Theistic World Views” will be going where it is so clearly needed.
R.B. Wright ’74
The Ripple Effect
In response to (“Making Waves,” spring 2024, p. 50): Nick (Kern ’94) was never a follower. I love to see him keep breaking new ground. No surprises here. Well done, Nick!
Jesse Coburn ’94
Coye’s Hamilton Mural
The winter 2024 edition of the Colgate Magazine highlighted a recent exhibition of the art of Lee Brown Coye at the Picker Art Gallery (“The Ghastly and Grand World of Lee Brown Coye,” p. 10). For those interested in seeing more of the artist’s work, a large, multipanel mural is always on display in the village of Hamilton. The paintings depict the founding of Hamilton with emphasis on the Civil War years — its role in the abolition movement and its location as a station on the Underground Railroad. The mural was commissioned by Doane’s Steak House, which later became Hickey’s Tavern. When the tavern was closed and sold, the mural was restored and loaned to the village. It has been on display at the Hamilton Post Office since 1996.
Will Keller ’84
Editor’s note: A reminder that Colgate Magazine now publishes three times a year. The next issue will be autumn/winter, mailing in January.